T-Mobile Debuts Novel Network Management with GoSmart

T-Mobile today confirmed that it will use an interesting technique to manage network congestion with its just-launched prepaid service, GoSmart Mobile. As stated on the GoSmart web site, "Certain T-Mobile plans may be prioritized over GoSmart Mobile plans during periods of congestion." A T-Mobile spokesperson explained to Phone Scoop that as network traffic becomes congested on any given cell, T-Mobile will allow its post-paid T-Mobile USA customers to access the fastest available data speeds on that particular cell. The maximum possible data speeds of GoSmart Mobile customers on that same congested cell will be slower, in comparison. T-Mobile said that all customers, whether post-paid or pre-paid, will have the same access to the network for voice calls and data services at all times. This network management policy applies only to data speeds. GoSmart offers three different plans. For $30 per month, GoSmart offers unlimited voice minutes and messaging. For $35, GoSmart offers unlimited voice, messaging, and unlimited web at "speeds appropriate for web browsing, email, and social networking." For $45, GoSmart offers unlimited voice and messaging, and up to 5GB of 3G data speeds. Users who exceed 5GB of 3G in a given billing cycle will be throttled down to 2G speeds for the remainder of the cycle, whether there's network congestion or not. T-Mobile's network management policy for GoSmart Mobile only applies to the $35 and $45 plans.